Wireless telephone services may be provided to consumers through contractual agreements in which a subscriber is obligated to pay a set amount of money per month for a predetermined number of months or years, and receives a predetermined set of wireless features. Wireless features may include a predetermined number of minutes per time period (e.g., a number of talk-time minutes per month), a predetermined number of text messages (e.g., short-message-service (SMS) text messages) per time period, and/or a predetermined amount of data usage per time period (e.g., a number of megabytes (MB) of data for wireless electronic mail, Internet access, etc.). Some consumers prefer to avoid contractual agreements when obtaining one or more wireless services and/or features. Such consumers may, instead, obtain wireless services by way of subscribing to prepaid wireless plans that do not require credit checks, social security numbers, and/or extended contractual terms that may be associated with contract termination fees.
Prepaid wireless subscribers typically own and/or purchase a wireless telephone and separately purchase a quantity of minutes to be used with the wireless telephone. If a purchased quantity of minutes (and/or any other wireless service-type such as text messaging, data services, etc.) is fully used or expires from lack of use, the subscriber may purchase additional wireless services from a kiosk and/or retailer (e.g., a convenience store). When a contractual wireless subscriber does not use their phone for a period of time during the contract, such subscribers continue to pay an agreed contract price for each delineated time period (e.g., a flat fee per month during the contract duration). On the other hand, when a prepaid wireless subscriber does not use their phone for a period of time (e.g., 60 days, 90 days, etc.), the purchased quantity of minutes may expire from lack of use, but the subscriber's authorization to use the wireless telephone number associated with the wireless telephone remains available when additional minutes are purchased. In some instances, one or more other time periods of inactivity with a prepaid wireless phone may result in relinquishment of the subscriber's wireless telephone number.
While a wireless network may include subscribers associated with both long-term contractual wireless consumers and prepaid wireless consumers, calculating and or measuring an active subscriber base may include contractual wireless consumers, prepaid wireless consumers having active credit (e.g., active minutes that have not expired due to lack of use), and prepaid wireless consumers having expired credit.